Fire-escape.



J. 0. COVERT.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14, 1907.

Patented May 30, 1911;

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J. C. COVERT.

ms ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14,1907. 993,350. I Patented May 30, 1911.

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JAMES C. COVERT, OF WATERVLIET, NEW YORK.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3%, 1911.

Application filed November 14, 1907. Serial No. 402,082.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES C. COVERT, a citizen of the United States,residing at VVatervliet, in the county of Albany and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawing.

The invention relates to improvements in fire escapes, and is embodiedin the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention relates more especially to that type or character of fireescapes now known as foot and hand rail type-that is to say, aconstruction for equipping buildings including a rail which extendsacross the front of the building and on which a person can stand and arail commonly known as a hand rail located a convenient distance abovethe standing or foot rail. Constructions of this nature are illustratedin my former patents No. 712,504, dated November 4, 1902 and No.793,770, dated July 4, 1905, and the present invention is an improvementof such constructions.

Some of the novel features of the invention are the particulararrangement of the hand and foot rail relative to the windows, thespecial means for securing the ladder to the building, the particularconstruction of the supporting brackets, and the special arrangment andassociation of said parts with the view of expediting the equipment of abuilding with the device, reducing to a minimum the number of securingbolts or screws while at the same time providing a substantial and neatappearing structure.

The above referred to improvements are the objects of the presentinvention in addition to other features, which will appear from theaccompanying detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown a structure embodying thevarious features of the invention, but manifestly the constructions canbe departed from or modilied in various particulars without necessarilydeparting from the nature and principle of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation showing parts of abuilding with the invention applied thereto, Fig. 2 is a side elevationof the fire escape showing the sup port in section, Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section through the upper securing plate. Fig. 4 is a crosssection of the same, Fig. 5 is a side elevation, Fig. 6 is alongitudinal sec tion of one form of bracket, Fig. 7 is a side elevationshowing parts in section of the preferred form of bracket, and Fig. 8 isa sectional view of the bracket connection between the ladder and one ofthe brackets.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 designatesa portion of the Wall of a building or structure and on the face thereofextending along the lower sill of the window 2 is a foot rail 3, while 4designates the hand rail, located a short distance above the foot rail.These two rails extend from the escaping ladder 5 to any desirable pointon the building, the foot rail running along the lower sills of thewindows and the hand rails running past the window openings. Thisparticular arrangement of the rails is provided in order that a personwithin the building may readily grasp the hand rail and swing out on thefoot rail, the rails being such a distance apart that a person standingon the first mentioned rail, may readily hold on to the hand rail.

I have found it advantageous in the present development of thisinvention to construct the main portion of the supporting bracket andthe bracket seat or eye for the rails as separate or independent partsto be coupled together; the seat or eye portion being provided with ashoulder to rest upon the main bracket portion and with a pin extendingfrom the seat portion through the main bracket portion to connect theparts, said parts having portions to overlap when the parts of thebracket are assembled as a whole.

In the construction of bracket illustrated in detail in Fig. 7 of thedrawings, 6 designates the main portion of the bracket and 7 the seat oreye of the bracket, said parts being constructed independently of eachother. The main portion 6 is preferably constructed of a single strip ofmetal to provide portions 0 to engage and be connected with the wall byscrews or bolts (5, a horizontal supporting arm 0 and a brace arm 7extending at an angle to and joining the supporting arm at the outer endthereof. The seat or eye portion 7 is provided with an annular shoulderg to rest upon the supporting arm 6 and with a depending shank or pin 8to engage an aperture 9 in the supporting arm 6, the pin projectingthrough to the under side of the arm 6 and being screw threaded toreceive a nut 8 to securely clamp the parts together.

In the construction illustrated in detail in Fig. 8 of the drawings, 10designates the main portion or supporting arm of the bracket and 11indicates the seat or eye of the bracket constructed as separate parts.The seat 11 is provided with a shoulder 13 and a straight dependingshank 12, the shoulder being arranged at the upper end of and to oneside of the shank. The supporting arm 10 is rectangular shape in crosssection. The seat or eye portion is adapted to make a scarf like jointconnection with the outer end of the supporting arm 10, the shoulder 13resting upon the upper edge of the supporting arm, and one side of theshank overlapping and lying against one side of the supporting arm. Theparts are adapted to be securely fastened together by a rivet or similarfastening member 14 passed through the overlapping portions of saidparts. In constructing this form of bracket the shoulder 13 may be madeinclined or beveled and the upper edge of the supporting arm inclined orbeveled to correspond with the shape of the shoulder. This design iscarried out in the construction of the bracket designated by A.

The bracket construction hereinbefore referred to greatly facilitatesthe rapid equipment of the building with the device, the workman firstsets the main bracket portions in their proper positions, thereaftersleeving the seat portions of the brackets on the rails, then moving therespective seat portions to the various main bracket portions andconnecting the same therewith. The rails are secured against turning inany convenient manner.

The ladder 5, which in the present instance is preferably a rigidstructure, comprising side bars 15 and rungs 16, is fixedly secured tothe building. In this connection, advantage is taken of the particularconstruction of supporting bracket illustrated in Fig. 8 of thedrawings. As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, brackets of this type areconnected to the building and arranged to fit against the side bars ofthe ladder to support the ends of the rails arranged to abut the bars ofthe ladder. A side surface of the bracket seat and a side surface of themain bracket portion are arranged to contact or lie against a side barof the ladder and a single rivet or other fastening member is passedthrough the overlapping portions of the bracket parts and the side barof the ladder, this single fastening member serving to securely connectthe bracket parts and the ladder with the building; the rail, bracket,and ladder structures being thus combined and united to produce a neatand durable structure. This I consider as one of the most importantfeatures of the present invention. The ladder is further steadied andsupported from the wall by brace members, each consisting of a fiatstrip of metal twisted and bent intermediate its ends to provide aportion 19 to lie flat against and be secured to the building and aportion 20 extending at an angle to the portion 19 to lie with its flatside against a side bar of the ladder and to be connected thereto. Thesestrips or brace members are adapted to be arranged in pairs asillustrated in the draw? ings and may be conveniently connected to theladder by extending a rung of the ladder beyond the sides thereof andemploying such extended portions as rivets to connect the parts. Theportions 20 are adapted to be bent at different angles to facilitatetheir connection with the side bars of the ladder.

The main support for the ladder is provided in the following manner: Atthe upper end of the ladder the side bars are extended, bent inwardtoward the building and twisted at right angles to rest fiat against theface of the building. These extended portions of the ladder are securelyclamped against the wall of the building by a plate 21, which is placedover the upper ends of the side bars and secured to the wall by screwsor bolts 23, said plate being formed with sockets 24 to accommodate saidextended end portions, which are bent to provide outwardly projectinglugs 27 to engage the upper edge of the plate. These lugs and the twistin the extended portion serve to prevent said extended portions frommovement relative to the plate. The extended end portions of the sidebars and the plate 21 are further connected to each other and to thewall of the building by bolts or screws passing through apertures 25,26, formed in the socket portions of the plate and extended end portionsand entering the wall of the building.

Heretofore in the construction shown in my before mentioned patents itwas found very difficult for the operator to secure the arms carryingthe eyes through which the pipe sections pass, to the closely lyingbracket or socket member, in a manner to prevent the possibility ofseparation, a strong pull upward would tend to lift the arms from thesockets. By my present invention, the so-called socket members orreceiving part of the bracket is offset sufficiently from the side ofthe building to permit the use of a wrench or other tool for securingthe eye permanently and fixedly in the socket. This is permitted whenthe Workman is suspended at the side of the building, it being necessaryonly to place the depending parts of the eye member in their properrelation relative to the socket member or bracket and to thereafterinsert the screw or rivet, capping the same in a manner to draw theparts fixedly together and thus lock them against movement.

What I claim is:

1. In a hand and foot rail fire escape, the combination with the railsof bracket members consisting of substantially U-shaped metal stripshaving attaching parts at their inner ends adapted to be secured to theside of the building and having perforations in their upper portionsnear their outer ends, of eye members on the rails having shouldersresting on the upper face of the brackets and threaded extensionspassing through the said perforations, and nuts below the upper part ofthe bracket for securing the threaded extensions fixedly in theperforations and the shoulders onto the bracket part, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a fire escape of the hand and foot rail type, the combination witha ladder having rigid side bars, the upper ends of which are deflectedinwardly toward the building and turned to present their .flattenedfaces outward, a retaining bar extending across the said ends andsecured to the side of the building, means for securing the bar to theends of the ladder, and offset portions at the extreme end of the ladderprojecting above the said bar.

3. In a fire escape, the combination with a ladder member having meansfor securing its upper ends to the wall of the building, of a pluralityof intermediate supporting members consisting of fiat strips havingtheir inner ends turned to present their flat surfaces outward andsecured to the side of the building and their outer ends bent into aplane parallel with the sides of the ladder and secured thereto,substantially as described.

4:. In a fire escape of the class described, the combination with a railmember, of means for supporting the rail member at the side of thebuilding at a distance therefrom, said means comprising a bent metalbracket having fiat attaching portions arranged respectively at oppositeends and a U-shaped part formed with a perforation in its upper portion,eye members sleeved on the rail and having a stem passing through theperforations in the bracket, and a clamping means engaging the stembelow the bracket for securing the eyes in place.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES C. COVERT.

Witnesses:

L. S. BACON, EDWIN S. GLARKsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

